Teenage sensation Tait takes centre stage

Barry Coughlan

Tait will become the youngest England debutant since his Newcastle colleague Jonny Wilkinson almost seven years ago when he runs out at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

It completes a staggering rise from schoolboy star to the Test match arena in barely 12 months. Tait, 19 next Sunday, is still a Zurich Premiership rookie with just 11 league appearances under his belt, but both England boss Andy Robinson and Newcastle rugby director Rob Andrew are convinced he has got what it takes.

Tait will be partnered in the centre by Falcons team-mate colleague Jamie Noon, who takes over from Henry Paul. Other changes from the team beaten by Australia at Twickenham last November see World Cup scrum-half Matt Dawson recalled instead of Andy Gomarsall, Leicester lock Ben Kay replacing Steve Borthwick and Gloucester flanker Andy Hazell making his first Six Nations start.

Hazell will feature at openside flanker, with Lewis Moody moving to the blindside role and Wasps’ Joe Worsley lining up at number eight.

Robinson goes into his first Six Nations game at the helm without the injured Wilkinson, Mike Tindall, Will Greenwood, Stuart Abbott, Richard Hill and Martin Corry.

In selecting Tait, Robinson has taken a leaf out of his predecessor Clive Woodward’s book, whose view was that if a player was good enough then he was old enough.

Meanwhile, Ireland have the chance to complete a hat-trick of southern hemisphere scalps when they take on the New Zealand All Blacks in Dublin on November 12 or 13.

IRB chiefs yesterday confirmed tours to the northern hemisphere by both the All Blacks and Australia, both of whom will play at Lansdowne Road next November.

The All Blacks last visit to Dublin was in November 2001, when three late tries gave them victory in what turned out to be Warren Gatland’s last game in charge of Ireland.

Ireland will meet the Wallabies a week later on November 19/20, and also take on Romania in a third autumn international. England take on the same teams as well as Samoa at Twickenham. New Zealand’s trip will also see them tackling Scotland, while the Wallabies take on Wales, in addition to Ireland and England.

Scotland meet Argentina and Samoa, with Wales’ additional games being against South Africa and Fiji. The French take on South Africa, Tonga and Canada.

Meanwhile, Alan Quinlan trained with the Irish squad in Dublin yesterday despite breaking his nose in Munster’s Celtic League loss to Llanelli at Stradey Park on Saturday.

“Alan was examined by the doctors and given the all clear to train,” said IRFU spokesperson Karl Richardson.

The Irish squad will be cut from 25 to 22 players tomorrow and the starting team to meet Italy in Rome on Sunday will be finalised.

IRB autumn Tests 2005 Nov 12-13: England v Australia, France v South Africa, IRELAND v New Zealand, Italy v Tonga, Scotland v Argentina, Wales v Fiji.

Nov 19-20: England v New Zealand, France v Tonga, IRELAND v Australia, Italy v Argentina, Scotland v Samoa, Wales v South Africa.

Nov 26-27: England v Samoa, France v Canada, IRELAND v Romania, Italy v Fiji, Scotland v New Zealand, Wales v Australia.

ENGLAND (6 Nations v Wales, Saturday): J. Robinson (Sale, capt); M Cueto (Sale), M Tait (Newcastle), J Noon (Newcastle), J Lewsey (Wasps); C Hodgson (Sale), M Dawson (Wasps); G Rowntree (Leicester), S Thompson (Northampton), J White (Leicester), D Grewcock (Bath), B Kay (Leicester), L Moody (Leicester), A Hazell (Gloucester), J Worsley (Wasps).

Replacements: A Titterrell (Sale), P Vickery (Gloucester), S Borthwick (Bath), J Forrester (Gloucester), H Ellis (Leicester), O Barkley (Bath), B Cohen (Northampton).